Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said he would follow former President Donald Trump “around the country” if he doesn’t attend any of the upcoming Republican primary debates.
Would Mr. Christie change his campaign travel schedule to go wherever Mr. Trump goes?
“You bet,” Mr. Christie told host Howard Kurtz on Fox News’ “MediaBuzz.”
Mr. Christie, who used to be an ally of Mr. Trump’s, has become one of his loudest critics. He called him a “certified loser, verified coward” ahead of the GOP debate in Milwaukee in August.
Mr. Trump announced he wouldn’t be participating in the Milwaukee debates just a few days before it took place. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” he said.
It is not clear if Mr. Trump’s post meant he would skip every debate in the 2024 GOP primary race, including the next one in California on Sept. 27.
Mr. Christie said on the Fox News show that he’s “sure he’s not coming to the Reagan debate.”
“We’ll give him another chance in Alabama,” Mr. Christie said, referencing the third debate to be held at the University of Alabama. “But if he doesn’t come there, then I’m going to follow him around the country. Wherever he goes, I’ll go. And, we’ll wind up talking to each other one way or another.”
Instead of joining his rivals on the debate stage in Milwaukee, Mr. Trump opted for a one-on-one interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson. The prerecorded interview aired on Mr. Carlson’s X platform the same night as the debate.
The former president said he didn’t participate in the debate because he was leading by 50 or 60 points in the polls and didn’t want to be “harassed by people that shouldn’t even be running for president.”
“I just felt it would be more appropriate not to do the debate,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Carlson. “I don’t think it’s right to do it.”
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
